Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Morris, Robert (1734-1806) to William Whipple

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05898 Author/Creator: Morris, Robert (1734-1806) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Letter signed Date: 11 June 1781 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; 18.7 x 14.3 cm. Order a Copy

Discusses the state of financial affairs and the need for a national bank to stop depreciation of the currency and reduced powers of the government. Writes that he "must apply or support to Gentlemen of your Character and Zeal for the service of their Country." He asks him to subscribe to the bank, and to encourage his friends and fellow citizens to do likewise. "We shall have to appeal to the interests of mankind...."

Signer of the U.S. Constitution.
Whipple was a member of the Continental Congress from New Hampshire 1776-1779 and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Morris, Robert, 1734-1806
Whipple, William, 1730-1785

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